Welcome to this Online Meeting for Worship. Below you will find songs, scripture readings, poems, and a short message to frame and guide your time in worship. The scripture used generally (though not always) comes from the weekly Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), connecting the Friends tradition to other Christian traditions around the world. This year we are in Liturgical Year B (2017-2018).

I suggest that you open each link in a separate window and play through the beginning of the songs to get past any ads, preparing for your worship time. (Though you may want to first check to see if ads play while the songs are embedded in the post. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t! Ad blocking software is helpful in this case.) You may also want to have a candle and a journal nearby.

For some of you this worship space may be a place of sanctuary when you are away from in-person worshiping communities. For others, this worship space may help you prepare for your weekly Sunday or mid-week worship. Since this worship is designed in the manner of Programmed Quaker Worship, it includes a period of waiting worship. There are several communities around the world that host online unprogrammed Quaker worship, for which I have included links. These communities worship together at certain times each day and week, so you may want to plan your worship around theirs. We do not have a "live" worship time and place yet, though discernment is underway to designate one.

If you would like to set up a regular time to worship through this site or if you have specific prayer requests to be held by my home worshiping community, please contact me through this site. If you would like to leave a message on this page, perhaps a message that rises for you during your worship, please comment below. Messages are filtered to counter spam attempts and it may take me up to 24 hours to approve a comment.

Thank you for joining me in this weekly online Quaker programmed worship. May your time in worship be deep and faithful.

Enduring Darkness

Centering Silence: Take a few moments to center yourself. Perhaps light a candle, find a comfortable place to sit and put away any distractions. Take a few deep breaths as you center yourself for this time of worship. Feel your body relax as your breaths become deeper. Turn your attention to the presence of the Divine throughout your body and throughout your life. When you are ready let the following worship elements guide your worship.

Scripture:

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you;your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice,because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

— Isaiah 60:1-6, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Scripture:

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

— Matthew 2:1-12, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Message: Enduring Darkness

Throughout this week I’ve been drawn to light. Lighting candles in the chapel where I work, lighting candles to celebrate lives that have passed on, lighting candles in the darkness of a snow storm, lighting candles to bring light. St. John of the Cross writes, “The endurance of darkness is preparation for great light.” During this wintertime, I must remind myself of that; I must remember the sparkling crisp days that come after storms, the spring flowers that will blossom when the snow melts, and the sound of the rushing brook when the deafening silence of the snow lifts.

The passage this week from Isaiah talks about light and darkness. “Arise, shine; for your light has come…For darkness shall cover the earth…Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (excerpts from Isaiah 60:1-3)

It feels particularly dark right now, like darkness has covered the earth—politically, socially, economically, physically. While the winter solstice has passed and technically we are gaining minutes of daylight every day, the cold and dark of the winter has firmly settled in. January and February are really the months that spiritually we turn towards the light to find hope, sustenance, and perseverance. Light is our warmth, our revelation, and our heart. When we are lost, light leads us home. When we are lonely, light gives us comfort. When we are afraid, light gives us solace.

This day, this celebration of Epiphany, I invite you into a contemplative practice of light. Find a place where you can be alone and quiet; a place where you can turn off the lights and be present to the darkness. Lean into that darkness, feel its expanse, its opportunity, its richness. Notice what rises for you emotionally as you think about the different darknesses in your life. Sink into these feelings, hold space for them, become aware and awake to them.

As you fill yourself up with these feelings, turn your attention towards your heart, and seek out a glimmer of compassion. If someone else was feeling these feelings, how would you feel toward them? Turn that glimmer of compassion towards yourself. Imagine it growing and growing until it ripples over your whole body.

Light a candle, bringing light to the darkness and making manifest that compassion that you feel for yourself. Feel that compassion throughout your whole body.

Spend some time in the light, looking into the flame, letting the warmth flow through you, matching your compassion, and mingling with your other emotions.

When you feel the time is right, read the scripture from Isaiah 60 out loud. Read it slowly, noticing what words stand out to you, what phrases stay in your mind, what pieces fall away from your tongue.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you;your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice,because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

— Isaiah 60:1-6, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

From your noticing, move into a place of waiting worship, deeply listening to the presence of God, noticing your body and your mind and your heart’s longing, and feeling the messages from the Spirit rise and fall in your awareness.

Silence-Waiting Worship: This is a time for you to turn your attention fully inward. The songs and passages and the offered message have prepared you to listen deeply to the Divine. Spend at least 20 minutes in silence listening for that still small voice of God. You may want to join an online waiting worship community. A few links for these can be found below.

When you have come to a place of closure in your waiting worship, continue on to bring your time of worship to a close.

Afterthoughts: Afterthoughts are thoughts that rose for you during waiting worship that didn’t completely form into a message. Perhaps you discerned that what was rising for you in waiting worship was a message for you alone, something not to be shared with others or perhaps you only received fragments of a message and it didn’t come together completely during the silence. Take a few minutes to journal these afterthoughts so that you can look back at them another time. Perhaps God is speaking to you through these partial messages and the fullness of their meaning will be revealed in time.

Joys and Concerns: It is traditional in Programmed Quaker Worship to have a time for the sharing of joys and concerns. Take a few moments to write down in your journal a few things from this week that you are thankful for and a few things that you are holding in prayer. Feel free to post these in the comments below as well (though remember that it may take up to 24 hours for them to be available to others to read) so that others can include your requests in their prayers and celebrate your joys alongside you.

Closing: Take another few moments of silence to close your worship time. Breathe deeply and give thanks for your time in worship today. When you feel ready, end by praying out loud, either a prayer of your own creation or the following: “O Holy One, in this time of darkness help me find light. Let your light, the light of the Spirit, fill me with hope, with warmth, and with solace. Help me light a light for others who are in darkness, welcoming home the stranger, and drawing warmth from the cold. Amen.”